


Unexpected Guest

by MedicateMeDrMcCoy



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Fun and Fluff, Major Character Injury, Making Dinner, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Storms, Swimming, Tiny amount of angst, Tornadoes, dancing under the stars, god damned death machines, jim kirk is a busy body, reader gets a surprise on her front door, scaredy cat leonard, sleepy leonard, sleepy leonard snuggles, while leonard makes a mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 23:33:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10955031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MedicateMeDrMcCoy/pseuds/MedicateMeDrMcCoy
Summary: You finally get a week of shore leave to rest and relax, only to hear an unexpected knock on your door. Leonard has ended up on your doorstep, and can't give a very good reason as to why. Will he ever tell reader why hes there? This is just a fun and fluffy story about what these 2 get up to on their shore leave!





	1. The knock

You shimmered onto a familiar patch of grass. The warm breeze blew your hair gently around your face, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath. You opened your eyes slowly and stood there for a moment and stared at the quaint farmhouse your parents had given to you, with your bag slung over your shoulder, smiling ear to ear. 

The Enterprise had just finished another mission and had come back for supplies and repairs, granting the crew a weeks leave. You had jumped at the opportunity to come home. It had been far too long since you’d been back. 

You made your way through the grass and up the gravel walkway, and made your way up the steps to the wrap around porch, listening to the porch swing creaking in the breeze and the wind chimes jangling. You pushed open the front door gently and made your way inside, dropping your bag just inside the door. You took in another deep breath, and crinkled your nose slightly. You quickly made your way around the house, and opened a few windows. 

Once satisfied at the breeze blowing through the house, you made your way to the bathroom. You walked over to the shower and turned on the faucet and placed your hands under the spray. You groaned softly to yourself, finally, a real shower. You shed your clothes quickly and stepped in the shower and pulled the curtain closed. 

You had cleaned yourself up rather quickly, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to shut off the warm spray. You lost track of time as you stood there with your eyes closed, the spray on your back helping to loosen your tight muscles. Eventually the water began to turn cold, and you groaned inwardly as you shut off the shower. You stepped out and toweled off quickly, while stepping into some fresh clean clothes. 

You were in the middle of towel drying your hair when you heard a soft knock on the front door. You furrowed your brows, at the interruption, wondering who it could be. No one knew you were even home yet, furthermore, who had found themselves this far out off the beaten path? You made your way slowly to the front door, still toweling out your hair. You peeked through the window and saw an all too familiar, albeit, confused face of your best friend aboard the Enterprise. You quickly opened the door and took in the man standing in front of you.

“Leonard? What are you doing here?” You questioned, with an upturned eyebrow. Leonard didn’t answer at first, as his confusion lifted at the sight of you standing in the doorway. He cursed out a “dammit Jim” quietly and sighed, running a hand through his hair. Leonard shuffled around on his feet awkwardly.

“Jim told me he was beaming me to the hotel, but I guess he accidentally sent me here instead.” Leonard offered in explanation, looking a bit agitated, trying to look anywhere but your face.

“Well, that’s.... a strange accident.” You replied as you eyed Leonard suspiciously, but still Leonard offered no further explanation. “Would you like to come in then?” As you swung the door open further, stepping out of the doorway. 

“Thank you, Y/N.” Leonard replied as he picked his duffel up off the porch and made his way inside, sitting it down by your bag. You walked around Leonard, leaving him standing in the doorway as he gave your living room a once over. You made your way to the couch and plopped down.

“It isn’t much, but it’s home.” You shrugged at him. You were never one for much decorating, which was just as well since you were out in space more than you were here. 

“You can have a seat you know. Nothing in here bites.” You said jokingly, as you draped your legs over the side of the couch. Leonard slowly made his way over to a recliner and sat down rigidly. A slightly uncomfortable silence filled the room and lingered, before you spoke quietly.

“So, do you need to use my comm to call Jim?” You questioned as you looked in Leonard’s direction. Leonard just shook his head slightly.

“He wouldn’t answer if I commed him, he’s busy giving reports and debriefings.” Leonard sighed in reply, rocking in the chair slightly, looking down at his hands in his lap.

“Is there anyone else you want to call? Somewhere you want me to take you?” You offered once more gently. Leonard just shook his head at both of your questions, while rubbing the back of his neck slightly.

“Let me guess, you’re going to want to stay here for the week?” You quipped, as you rolled your head to the side to look at Leonard.

“If that’s okay?” Leonard replied quickly, not realizing you were joking “I don't have anywhere else… except with Jim and…” Your heart broke a little and you cursed yourself for sounding insensitive. 

“No, of course you can. I didn’t mean for it to sound that way, I’m sorry. You can stay as long as you like. I have plenty of room, and it’d be nice to have some company.” You replied quickly, cutting him off. You sat up on the couch sightly and offered Leonard a small smile. Leonard visibly relaxed at your words and eased back into the chair more comfortably, offering you a small smile in return. You got up from the couch slowly and stretched. 

“Well I hope you're hungry, because I am. I'm dying for some real food.” You said wistfully as you made your way passed Leonard and patted his leg softly. You padded into the kitchen, and began rummaging through the cabinets. You laid out everything you’d need on the counter and went to gather the chicken from the fridge. Leonard made his way to the entryway and leaned against the door frame. 

“What are you making?” Leonard questioned while quirking his eyebrow at the myriad of bowls and utensils strewn across the counter top. You grabbed what you needed from the fridge and shut the door with your foot. 

“What I always make when I come back from a mission. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob.” Leonard groaned softly from the doorway and you smirked to yourself. 

“Need a hand?” Leonard offered, pushing himself off from the entryway. “It's the least I can do.”

“Sure, you can start by dredging the chicken.” You answered casually as you started peeling potatoes. 

“I can do what?” Leonard replied, looking at you confused. 

“Dredge… you know… cover in flour?” You replied, turning your head and meeting his confused eyes. 

“Oh…” Leonard breathed out, looking slightly abashed. 

“You can name everything there is to know about the human body without a second thought, but you don't know what dredge means?” You laughed out in reply.

“I'm a doctor, not a culinary chef, woman.” Leonard huffed out as you handed him the seasoned flour. 

“Whatever you say Leonard, just don't make a mess.” You sniggered as you returned your attention to peeling and cutting potatoes. You finished cutting the potatoes and turned your attention back to Leonard. The sight made you stop in your tracks. Leonard had seemed to get flour on everything in the vicinity except the chicken. 

“Leonard Horatio McCoy, what on earth…” You breathed out taking in the whole scene. 

“What? It's harder than it looks!” Leonard grumped out, as he sent more flour flying in all directions. 

“You’re worse than a kid, you know that? How did you manage to even get it in your hair?” You replied as a bubble of laughter began building in your chest, and you moved your hand to your mouth to suppress it. Leonard narrowed his eyes, glaring in your direction. 

“Don't you dare.” Leonard growled a warning. You couldn't help it, you couldn't take his warning seriously as he stood there covered in flour, you lost it. You laughed harder than you had in a long time. When you finally stopped laughing you looked up and Leonard had moved in closer to you, with a stern look on his face. You wiped the tears from your eyes and breathed out a final laugh. 

“I hope you know you're going to clean all this up.” You said as you gestured to the mess all over the half of the kitchen. 

“It’ll be worth it for this.” Leonard replied, the edges of his lips quirking up into a grin. 

“For what…? Leonard...” You trailed off, eyeing Leonard suspiciously. Before you could register what Leonard was planning, he closed the gap and lifted you off the ground as he pulled you into a hug, squeezing tight, successfully covering you in flour. 

“Leonard! Get off of me! I just showered, you ass!” You yelled as you struggled to get out of his grasp, kicking your feet and wiggling unsuccessfully. Leonard just chuckled as he held you in his arms until you finally stopped struggling, then he set you back down gently. 

“You love it darlin’, don't deny it.” Leonard replied with a laugh and a twinkle in his eye. 

“I will continue to deny it till the day I die, McCoy. Now go take a shower and leave me be so I can get dinner finished in peace.” You replied with a huff, trying to brush all the flour off your clothes. “Down the hall and to the left.” Leonard made his way out of the kitchen, still chuckling to himself. You sighed and shook your head, a small smile tugging at your lips despite yourself, that man drove you completely crazy, and it was always in the best way. 

Leonard finished his shower fairly quickly, and made his way back to the kitchen. He leaned against the door frame in a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt from your academy days, looking quite relaxed as his still wet hair clung to the sides of his head. You had just finished getting everything plated. 

“Here, help me carry this stuff to the table. No funny business this time McCoy.” You warned, eyeing Leonard. Leonard lifted his hands in the air in surrender. 

“I come in peace.” He stated with a grin, taking the plates from your hands and walking them over to the table. You poured two glasses of iced tea and made your way to the table. 

“Good god woman, this is fantastic.” Leonard said in awe as he took his first bite of chicken. 

“Thank you. Secret family recipe.” You winked at Leonard, digging into your own chicken. Leonard looked like he was going to reply to your statement for a moment, but he decided to take another bite of chicken instead. 

You slipped into silence as you both ate. Neither one of you were big into small talk, and it suited you both just fine. You both would stay late at each others quarters, quietly watching a movie together, or even reading. You both just enjoyed each other's company, it was comfortable. Your friendship seemed almost effortless, you both understood and just got each other. 

“This is a nice place you have Y/N, it's homey.” Leonard spoke quietly as he gazed around the dining room. 

“Thanks. It's my childhood home. My parents willed it to me when they passed. I couldn't bear the thought of giving it up, so I moved in and have been working on it ever since.” You replied with a small smile. Leonard returned your smile as he got up to take both of your plates to the kitchen sink. You followed behind him with the glasses. 

“Just rinse them and put them in the dishwasher. We’ll worry about your flour mess tomorrow. I'm too tired to care tonight.” You replied trying to stifle a yawn as you rinsed out the glasses. You placed them in the dishwasher and shut the door. 

“Let’s go watch a movie.” You offered as you hit Leonard's arm softly with the back of your hand. 

“After you, darlin’” Leonard drawled as he gestured toward the living room. You rolled your eyes playfully as you made your way to the living room with Leonard close on your heels. 

After much debate, the two of you had finally decided on a movie. It had action for Leonard and your favorite actor. You picked up a couple pillows from the love seat and tossed one to Leonard, who caught it and placed it behind his head. You plopped down on the couch and brought your legs up and laid them across the ottoman. Leonard mimicked you and laid his legs across yours.

Halfway through the movie you look over at Leonard, who was already snoring softly. You smiled to yourself as you continued to stare at the sleeping doctor, taking in how peaceful and younger he always looked when his guard was down and he wasn’t stressed. Then a flash of light dancing across the sky caught your attention, you turned your head to the window as a quiet rumble of thunder echoed across the sky. 

You looked to Leonard who was still fast asleep. You decided to let him sleep. The two of you had put in countless hours in the Medbay these past couple of weeks due to an outbreak. You knew he was every bit as tired as you were, probably more so. You turned down the TV, so it wouldn't wake him up. You slowly wiggled your legs out from underneath his own and made your way out to the front porch. 

You stared out to the west as the lightning continued to snake across the sky. The distant rumbling getting louder and more intense. The breeze was picking up as your wind chimes jangled loudly. You walked over and carefully laid them down on the porch. You sat down on your porch swing and watched the lightning bolts chase each other in the distance. You had always been fascinated with storms. 

“Looks like some storm brewing.” Leonard yawned out rubbing his eyes and coming over to sit by you, plopping heavily onto the swing. 

“Yeah, we just entered tornado season a few days ago. Should be interesting.” You replied, chuckling softly, not taking your eyes off the sky.

“Tornadoes?! I didn't sign up for tornadoes!” Leonard spoke quickly, eyes bugging out of his head slightly. 

“Settle down, just because it's tornado season, doesn't mean every storm is going to be a tornado. Don't worry, I have a tornado shelter out back in case anything happens” You tried to reassure Leonard by patting his arm softly. 

“Fantastic, a tornado shelter. I'm glad one of us is taking this in stride.” Leonard huffed out, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms. 

“You get used to it.” You shrugged at him. “It’ll be alright though, don't worry”. You gave Leonard a quick wink as the rain started to fall on the house. 

“Get used to spiraling wind funnels of death, she says.” Leonard muttered to himself. You couldn't help but laugh. You patted Leonard's leg and got up from the swing. The wind was starting to make the rain fall sideways onto the porch. 

“Come on grumpy, I’ll show you to the extra bedroom.” You offered as you stuck out your hand to help Leonard up. Leonard took your hand and hoisted himself up and into a stretch. 

“Bed sounds good.” Leonard yawned once more and followed you into the house. 

You got Leonard settled into the extra bedroom and made your way around the house, shutting the windows as the rain continued to come down in sheets. You finally made your way to your room and pulled the sheets back on the bed and fell on top of it. Oh how you missed your own soft, comfortable bed. You curled in between the sheets and quickly fell asleep as the rain, lightning and thunder continued its relentless assault outside.

“Y/N...” a soft voice spoke into the dark.”Hey… Y/N” the voice spoke a little louder, followed by a gentle shaking on your shoulders. You groaned softly as your eyes fluttered open to see a dark figure standing beside your bed. You let out a soft yelp of surprise before remembering you had a house guest. 

“Leonard! Don’t do that!” You sighed softly as you rubbed your face. “What's wrong?” You asked, as you glanced at the window, noticing the lightning continuing to flash across the sky, almost nonstop as the rain pounded against the windows. Leonard chuckled softly, while shifting his weight on his feet nervously while rubbing the back of his neck. 

“I uh, well the weather… the weather looked pretty bad so I thought I'd come…” Leonard danced around his words nervously as he glanced back and forth from the window to you. 

“Leonard McCoy… don't tell me you're scared.” You fought back a snigger as you sat up slightly in the bed. The lightning flashed through the window, illuminating Leonard's face. You could barely make out his worried expression. 

“No!” Leonard spoke quickly. “No of course not! I just thought I'd come check on you is all.” As the last word left Leonard's lips, a deafening clap of thunder rattled the windows. You saw Leonard jump slightly and he quickly crawled over you to the other side of your bed. You sat there, trying to suppress a laugh. 

“Not a word.” Leonard threatened grumpily, followed by a yawn. 

“Wouldn't dream of it McCoy.” You replied as you held your hands up in surrender. You decided not to poke fun this time while you grabbed your PADD to check the weather. You showed Leonard the screen and showed him there wasn't anything to worry about. Just a heavy storm and it would pass soon. 

Once Leonard was satisfied that the two of you weren't going to get swept away in a tornado, Wizard of Oz style, he finally relaxed. 

You pulled the sheets up over you and laid back down on your stomach, hugging your pillow. You could hear the quiet shuffling of sheets as Leonard tried to get comfortable. You were about to comment on the noise when you felt a pressure against your side. You opened one eye slightly and peered down and saw Leonard curled up, pressing against you lightly. 

“Goodnight Y/N. Thank you.” Leonard mumbled out as he began to fall asleep, smashing his face into his pillow. 

“You're welcome Len. Get some sleep.” You replied quietly, smiling down at Leonard, as he pressed further into you as he started to fall asleep. You could hear a quiet rumble coming from Leonard's chest as you quickly fell back asleep.


	2. The Confession

The next morning you woke up kind of late. You tried to roll over but soon discovered you couldn't move. You peered down to see Leonard pressed up against you, arm and leg draped over the top of you, snoring softly in your ear. You couldn't help but to chuckle. You moved as slowly as possible as to not wake the other, you knew he was exhausted and didn't want to wake him just yet. 

You finally managed to make it out of bed without waking the sleeping man. You pulled the sheets back over him, brushing his loose hair off of his face gently, which earned you a quiet snort as he buried his face further in the pillow. You grinned to yourself as you slowly shuffled your way to the kitchen, and pulled out the coffee pot. You grabbed a rag and slowly cleaned up some of the flour from the previous night, as the coffee brewed.

You poured yourself a cup of coffee, straight black, and headed out to the back porch. You stood against the railing, sipping your coffee slowly. Cherishing the real thing as it warmed your insides. 

You peered out across your property, a small frown began to form on your lips, as you took in the mess the storm had left behind. Branches and limbs lay scattered throughout the field and field, lawn furniture you weren’t even sure was yours was scattered around. 

You were in the middle of deciding how you wanted to start tackling the mess, when you heard the door open quietly and a slow shuffle of feet moving behind you. You turned around and were met with a very disheveled, sleepy looking Leonard. A cup of coffee in one hand and his PADD in the other. His hair was mussed in almost every direction, except down. He was still wearing the shirt he went to bed in, wrinkled from laying up against you, with his pajama pants slung low across his hips. Leonard came to stand beside you, going through his emails on his PADD. 

“Good morning. I see you survived the night.” You teased lightly, smirking into your cup of coffee. Leonard gave you a soft, sleepy glare. 

“I thought I said not a word, Y/N.” Leonard threatened halfheartedly as he sipped on his coffee. You gave a quiet snort as you laughed in your coffee cup, returning your attention to your yard. 

“What's on the agenda today?” Leonard asked, still concentrating on his PADD. You put your hand on his PADD and lowered it gently. 

“Have you even looked up and seen the state of things? I’ve got to clean this mess up.” You sighed as you looked into your empty coffee cup. Leonard finally tore his attention away from his PADD and took a good look around. 

“Sorry, was giving Jim a piece of my mind. Holy hell, what a mess.” Leonard spoke loudly at seeing the debris for the first time. You chuckled softly as you made your way slowly back to the house to change with Leonard close behind. 

“Do you need any help, darlin?” Leonard asked as he held the door open for you, gesturing you inside. 

“Len, you’re my guest. I can't ask you to do clean up duty while were on leave.” You spoke, turning your head, trying to hide the fact that you were blushing slightly at Leonard's gesture. 

“You're giving me free room and board for a week, I can at least pick up a few tree limbs.” Leonard replied as he made his way to the spare bedroom to change. 

You changed quickly and made your way out to the little storage shed beside the house. You opened the doors and stepped inside and pulled the tarp off your two 4-wheelers. You grabbed their keys and checked the gas levels before jumping on and bringing them to life. You brought one outside before going back in and pulling out a small utility cart and attaching it to the one outside. You followed the same procedure with the other 4 wheeler. 

You had just brought the second 4-wheeler outside, when Leonard finally made his way to the shed. 

“Really, Y/N? 4-wheelers? Don't you know how dangerous these things are?” Leonard stated and he gave the vehicles a once over with a slight look of disgust. You restrained yourself from rolling your eyes as you laughed to yourself. 

“It's only a 150cc engine Leonard. If you’d rather walk the property and tow the utility cart around yourself, then be my guest.” You replied as you hopped onto your 4-wheeler. 

“I have no idea what you just said, darlin.” Leonard replied, quirking an eyebrow slightly, still glaring at the rumbling machine. You gave a tiny laugh. 

“That means it's not that fast Leonard, you’ll be fine, it's an automatic and everything.” You laughed out, as you pulled the throttle back, revving your engine, earning a deep frown from Leonard. You patted the empty seat next to you, trying to get Leonard to hop on. Leonard gave a small exasperated sigh and climbed on the 4-wheeler. 

You quickly went over the controls and how everything worked before you encouraged him to take off. Leonard pulled back on the handle with a little too much enthusiasm and the 4-wheeler lurched forward. Startled, Leonard let go of the throttle and mashed the brake, almost sending himself flying up and over the handlebars. You held your sides as you let out a laugh as Leonard grumbled, righting himself back on the seat. 

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up Y/N.” Leonard groused, as he straightened out his shirt. 

“A little less throttle next time McCoy.” You breathed out between laughs. Leonard gave you a final huff before gently pulling back on the throttle this time. The machine lurched forward ever so slightly before it evened out and carried the doctor out into the field. You let out a final laugh and shook your head as you pulled back your own throttle, following close behind. 

You and Leonard spent the next few hours talking and laughing while you both worked. You loaded up branches, limbs, various furniture and other random items in your field, putting them all in a big burn pile for later. 

You finished up your last cartful of limbs and climbed back on your 4-wheeler. You left Leonard behind to finish up what little he had left as you made your way to the burn pile. 

You probably should have been watching where you were going, instead of thinking about what you wanted for a late lunch. You didn't notice a small washed out gully in front of you. As small as it was, it was enough at the speed you were going. Your 4-wheeler clipped the edge just right, making you overcompensate for the loss of control. The violent shake of the machine sent your utility cart flinging. The added weight and momentum of the cart, sent your 4-wheeler toppling over on its side. 

You had just enough time to process what was happening and flung yourself off to the side, rolling away from your toppling machine. You sat on the ground for a few moments to catch your breath and calm your nerves. The sound of your 4-wheeler reeving had caught Leonard's attention, whom you could faintly hear yelling in the background, but couldn't quite make out over the loud rumble of your 4-wheeler. 

You brought yourself up to your feet slowly. You looked yourself over, and besides being shaky and a few bumps and scratches, you figured you were okay. You walked slowly over to your 4-wheeler and shut it off, moving to unhitch the cart before trying to flip the machine back upright. You made your way to grab the handlebars when Leonard drove up and skidded to a stop and hopped off his 4-wheeler. 

“Y/N? What the hell? Are you ok?” Leonard spoke quickly as he made his way over to you, grabbing your arm gently, and turning you to face him, giving you the once over. 

“I’m fine Leonard, I got out of the way just in time.” You replied, brushing off his concern as you tried to start flipping your machine back over. Leonard scowled and tightened his grip slightly around your arm. 

“If you're fine, then what's this?” Leonard asked as he brought his hand up to your temple, sweeping across it gently. You winced slightly at his touch. He brought his hand back in front of you, blood smeared across it. 

“Oh…” You breathed out, gazing at his hand. When had that happened? You couldn't recall. 

“That's what I thought.” Leonard scowled again as he led you over to his 4 wheeler, muttering about god damned death machines the whole way. He sat you down gently on the machine as he took your face into his hands, moving it around so he could get a better look at your injury. You tried to squirm out of his grip, but he wasn't having it. 

“Leonard, I'm fine, really!” You protested, trying to pull his hands away from your face. Surely the little bump or scratch wasn't worth this much doctoring. You tried to get up from the machine when Leonard pushed you back down gently by your shoulders. 

“Sit Y/N, and let me finish looking you over.” Leonard ordered, with a low growl, as he resumed his exam on you, trying to get you to follow his finger with your eyes. 

“Leonard it can't be that bad. You can look me over when we're done.” You tried to protest once more, placing your hands back on his wrists, tugging gently. 

“Dammit woman, just let me look you over and stop fighting me?” Leonard spoke, voice rising slightly as he placed his hands on either side of you on the seat of the 4-wheeler, taking a few deep breaths.

“What's gotten into you Leonard?” You asked softly as you stared down at the top of his head, taken aback by his sudden change in mood. Leonard didn't move for a few seconds as he tried to calm himself. When he finally did, he brought his head up slightly, his eyes meeting yours. His hazel eyes swirled with concern and something else you couldn't quite read. 

“Y/N, you scared me half to death. I thought that thing had crushed you.” Leonard started out slowly, and quietly. “There's no real easy way for me to say this, and there's really no use in me denying it or beating around the bush any longer.” Leonard started speaking quickly as he stood up from the 4-wheeler and rubbed the back of his head nervously before rubbing his face. You quirked an eyebrow at him, silently encouraging him to continue. 

“Jim didn't send me here by accident…” Leonard started off, pausing for a moment to take in your body language. When he received a curious expression from you, he continued. “I like you Y/N, a lot. I have for a while. This was Jim’s way of getting me alone with you so I'd finally admit my feelings…” Leonard trailed off as he shifted on his feet nervously. You gave Leonard a blank expression before your lips started curving up into a smile, and before you knew it, you were chuckling. 

“What's so funny?” Leonard quirked an eyebrow at you, confused, but seemed to relax a bit at your laughter. 

“I kind of had a funny feeling Len. Sending you here, to my house, out in the middle of nowhere? That's a very convenient accident. I'm glad he did it though, because I really like you too Leonard.” You replied, speaking the last part softly. Leonard snapped his head back up to you and took your face in his hands.

“You… you do?” Leonard asked as he searched your face and looked into your eyes. 

“I do. I just never thought you'd want… I didn't want to ruin our friendship if you didn't feel the same way.” You replied looking down at the ground. Leonard lifted your head back up gently as he leaned in and kissed you softly on the lips. You shuddered slightly at the sensation of his rougher lips scratching against your smoother ones, and melted into the kiss that didn't last near long enough as far as you were concerned before Leonard pulled away, slowly. 

“So, does that mean?...” Leonard trailed off, looking at you questionly, running a thumb across your cheek. Your reply was to run your hands through his hair as you brought his lips back to yours in a crushing kiss. Leonard met your lips again hungrily as he leaned more into you, pushing you further into the seat. Both of your lips and tongues fought against one another as you kissed Leonard back just as forcefully. You don't know how long it had been, but you finally felt Leonard pull back ever so slightly. You could still feel his warm breath on your lips as he tried catching his breath. 

“We should get you inside and get you cleaned up.” Leonard spoke softly, not moving a muscle as he panted slightly against your lips. 

“Yeah…” You breathed out, your hands still tangled in his hair. “If you want to go inside, you should probably let me up though.”

“Oh…” Leonard began, moving quickly, as he finally realized he was still pinning you to the seat. You chuckled softly at his seemingly nervous behavior as you got up slowly from the 4-wheeler. You made your way to your downed machine and began trying to pull it up. Leonard cleared his throat and gave you a stern look, and you lifted your hands up in surrender, leaving him to it. 

You made your way back to your cart and began slowly loading it back up with the scattered branches. Once Leonard righted the machine, you hooked the cart back up to it. You hopped up on your machine and fired it back to life, making sure it was running properly after the tumble.

“Y/N…” Leonard growled out, scowling at you, arms crossed.

“Leonard, it’ll be fine. I’ll go slow and watch where I’m going, I promise. We can’t just leave them out here in the middle of the field anyway.” You replied, giving him an equally stern scowl. Leonard sighed and dropped his hands.

“Fine, I’ll be right behind you the whole way.” Leonard said as he hopped back on his own 4 wheeler, leaving no room for argument.

“Fine by me. Enjoy the view doctor.” You smirked at Leonard, as you slowly started to pull away towards the burn pile. Leonard rolled his eyes before grinning at you as he followed you close behind. After unloading both of your carts, you made your way to the shed and locked up the 4-wheelers. As you shut the shed doors, and leaned against them slightly, feeling lightheaded. Leonard eyed you suspiciously before squaring up to you.

“You alright, Y/N?” Leonard asked softly, as he moved the hair out of your face and tucked it behind your ear gently as he peered into your eyes, his hazel eyes full of concern. 

“Yeah, I’m ok, just a little dizzy I guess.” You mumbled as you closed your eyes and leaned into Leonard’s hand slightly. Leonard let out a sigh, while bringing his hand down to rest on your cheek.

“I knew that was too much work after that bump you took, I should have sent you straight back to the house.” Leonard grumped out softly, angry with himself mostly, as he dropped his arm to your waist and helped you back to the house. You were thankful then for his doctoring as you leaned into his side for support, suddenly finding yourself very tired.

Leonard led you silently into the house and to the bathroom. He sat you down gently on the toilet seat. You rested your head on your hand as he quickly left the bathroom. Leonard returned a few moments later with his tricorder and medkit. You sat there perfectly still, almost dozing off to the soft whir of the tricorder.

“It seems everything's alright, just a good knock. Nothing some painkillers and a good night sleep can’t take care of.” Leonard said softly, staring down at you, running his hands through your hair gently, checking your temple. You nodded slowly in agreement, nuzzling into his hand slightly, earning a smile from the doctor. Leonard pulled his hand away from your head reluctantly and turned on your shower, warming it up for you. 

“A shower and getting clean will do you good. I’ll give you a painkiller once you're out and have eaten something.” Leonard spoke, turning his head toward you, while keeping his hand under the spray, waiting for it to warm up. You nodded once again in agreement, too tired to argue. 

You got up from the seat slowly, as the soreness in your body was starting to set in from the tumble. You made your way over and grabbed a couple towels from the cabinet and sat them aside. 

“Thanks Leonard. For everything.” You mumbled out quietly, leaning against the wall for support. Leonard chuckled softly and dried his hand on the towel. 

“You're welcome, sweetheart. Someone has to take care of you. Miss accident prone.” Leonard replied, taking your wrist and tugging you gently into him. 

“Yeah, yeah, rub it in why don't you. I guess some things never change, whether I’m here or on the Enterprise, huh?” You breathed out a soft laugh, burying your head in his chest. 

“I guess it's part of your charm.” Leonard chest rumbled as he gave a low chuckle, nuzzling his cheek on the top of your head. “Does anyone deliver pizza around here?” He suddenly asked, mumbling into your hair.

“You're kidding right? Were in the middle of nowhere. And you? Mr. Strict diet or else? Pizza?” You chuckled softly, poking his stomach softly. 

“I didn't figure, but just checking. Don't judge me, a man is allowed his simple pleasures once in awhile. I’ll go figure something out while you shower. Take all the time you need, darlin.” Leonard replied as he kissed your forehead gently and made his way out of the bathroom. 

You chuckled once more to yourself, shaking your head softly, while stripping down and getting into the shower. You stood under the spray, letting the warm water beat down on your tight sore muscles. After a few minutes you grabbed your shampoo and began to lather up. 

It didn't take long before you were clean and relaxed. You shut the shower off and grabbed a towel and began drying off. You stepped out of the shower and over to the sink when you noticed a pile of clothes sitting on the counter next to it. Leonard must have brought them back in quietly while you were in the shower. You smiled to yourself at the simple gesture and continued to towel off. 

You slipped into your clean clothes and dried your hair carefully. Your head had slowly begun to throb since coming inside. Once satisfied your hair was dry enough, you slowly made your way down to the kitchen, half expecting to find another mess. 

You made your way to the doorway to the kitchen and peered around the corner, not certain what you'd find. Leonard was full of surprises apparently. Leonard was finishing up cleaning up the flour mess with two perfectly made sandwiches on plates sitting on the counter. 

“Wow, I'm impressed. The legendary Doctor McCoy all domesticated. Who knew?” You teased him lightly, raising your eyebrows in mock surprise. 

“Very funny. Hilarious even. You'd better be nice or both of these sandwiches are mine.” Leonard replied, tossing the towel back in the sink gently, before giving you a wink, as he grabbed both plates and walked passed you to the living room.

“My ingredients, equal my sandwiches, McCoy. Don't you dare fight me, you'll lose, I'm pretty hungry.” You sassed back, following closely on his heels. 

“You're adorable when your grumpy, you know that?” Leonard replied, completely ignoring your threat as he sat down on the couch. 

“I think we've hung out too much, you're rubbing off on me.” You grumped out, plopping yourself on the couch, reaching out for your sandwich. Leonard handed over the sandwich with a smirk, but otherwise wisely remained silent as you both ate your sandwiches. 

“I have to give it to you McCoy, you make a mean sandwich.” You finally spoke, as you finished your sandwich quickly, not realizing how hungry you were. 

“Thank you darlin. Now what do you say to finishing that movie?” Leonard asked as he stood up and took your plate from you, taking them back to the kitchen. You pulled the blanket from behind the couch and draped it over yourself as Leonard made his way back to the bathroom to get his medkit. Leonard came back in the living room, loading a hypospray as he walked. 

“Just a mild pain killer, nothing too serious.” Leonard explained while he stood next to you on the couch. You nodded and leaned you head to the side slightly as he pressed the hypo to your neck as gently as he could. You still winced as he rubbed the spot on your neck softly, easing the pain. Leonard tucked your hair behind your ear gently as he inspected the spot on your temple again. Satisfied that it wasn't more than a simple scratch, he smiled down at you while he ran his thumb along your jaw, kissing your forehead softly. 

Leonard walked back over to the tv and restarted the movie from the night before. He came back over to the couch, putting his hypos back in his medkit before taking a seat. 

“Come here, darlin.” Leonard said softly, looking over at you, holding his arm out. You grinned as you scooted into Leonard's side, snuggling in as you laid your head on his chest as you wrapped the both of you in the blanket. Leonard kissed the top of your head softly as you both melted into each other, getting comfortable. 

You soon found yourself starting to doze off. You didn't stand a chance against the pain killer, mixed with the soft warmness of Leonard's chest. You finally decided to quit fighting it as you snuggled further into Leonard's chest, earning a soft, chuckling rumble from the other as he carded his hand through your hair. 

You awoke an hour or so later and blinked your eyes blearily awake. The first thing you noticed was the soft snores coming from behind you. You sat up slowly, grimacing slightly at the soreness that had set in. You glanced over at the sleeping doctor while you stretched and smiled to yourself. You ran your hand through Leonard's hair gently. Leonard's head unconsciously leaned into your hand, making your smile go wider. 

You leaned over and placed a soft lingering kiss on Leonard's lips, making him quietly snort awake. It didn't take long before Leonard realized what was going on before he was smiling against your lips as he returned your gentle kiss. 

“I could get used to getting woken up like that.” Leonard spoke softly, pulling away from your lips ever so slightly.

“Well now, we wouldn't want to spoil you, huh?” You replied jokingly, as you nipped Leonard's bottom lip softly, earning a groan from the other. You chuckled quietly as you held out your arms. 

“Help, I can't get up. I'm too sore.” You replied with your hands still up in the air, making small grabbing motions with your hands. Leonard laughed and pushed himself off the couch and stepped over in front if you. 

“Would princess like for me to carry her as well?” Leonard teased as he grabbed your outstretched hands and began to help you up slowly. 

“Yes she would actually.” You nodded in agreement as you stood up with Leonard’s help, groaning as your sore muscles stretched themselves out. 

“Well tough luck this time princess, I'm tired.” Leonard replied with a small smirk, giving you a kiss on your forehead. 

“Mean!” You huffed out, with your hands on your hips, as you made your way slowly around Leonard, heading to the bedroom. 

“Far from mean, sweetheart.” Leonard called after you with a small chuckle, as he turned to follow you down the hallway towards the bathroom. You could hear him shut the door and start up the shower. 

You entered your bedroom and made your way straight to the bed and plopped down face first. You groaned into the pillow at the softness of the bed, combined with the nice cool sheets. You laid there awhile before Leonard finally emerged from the bathroom, with his medkit in tow. 

“Alright darlin, I’ll give you some more pain medicine, a little stronger this time, if you want it and we can call it a night.” Leonard offered, already opening his medkit. 

“Sounds like an excellent plan to me.” You mumbled into your pillow, already getting tired again. Leonard loaded up a hypo and placed it gently against your neck, then rubbing the injection site. Leonard loaded up another one and administered it to himself. He placed everything back in his medkit and laid it next to the bed. 

Leonard then sat down on the side of the bed gently and started rubbing your back and shoulders slowly. All you could do was groan as his skilled hands worked over your knots and tight muscles. 

You were about to doze off when you felt Leonard's weight shift off the bed, rousing you slightly as he crawled over you to the other side of the bed. Leonard gave no qualms this time and snuggled right into your side. You chuckled softly as he continued to scoot closer, finally finding a comfortable position with his arm draped over you and his leg tangled in your own, he settled down. 

With his head laying so dangerously close to yours, you couldn't help but to lean over and place a kiss on his lips. Leonard returned your kiss, then pepperedyour cheek and jaw with little soft kisses. 

“Goodnight Len.” You giggled out as his scruff tickled your cheek. 

“Good night Y/N. Sleep well.” Leonard replied and he snuggled his head against yours. 

“Somehow, I believe I just might.” You smiled down at Leonard, carding your fingers through his hair until you could hear his breathing shallow and even out. You then closed your eyes as sleep quickly found you as well.


	3. The Lake

You blinked blearily as you awoke slowly the next morning. You laid there for a few minutes, willing yourself to wake up, the pain medicine leaving you slightly groggy. As you tried to move your arms and legs into a stretch to assess how sore you were, you were met with a sleepy growl. Arms snaked around and tightened around your middle, pulling you in close. You smiled as you felt the warm breath of the other on the back of your neck, breathing in and out evenly.

“I’m not going anywhere Leonard, just trying to stretch.” You giggled out softly as the other grumbled and buried his head into your neck. He began placing soft, lazy kisses there and down to the top of your spine before laying his head back on the pillow, pressing his forehead against your back. You grabbed his arm gently and tried to pry it away slightly, while rolling over to face the sleepy man.

“Morning.” You spoke softly as you ran your fingers through his messy hair, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead, before snuggling in beside him.

“Mornin’” Leonard mumbled as he placed a soft kiss against your collarbone, before nuzzling into your shoulder, pulling you close once again. You rested your cheek on the top of his head, closing your eyes while breathing in his subtle scent. You played with the strands of hair at the base of his neckline, eliciting small, quiet groans from Leonard. You were about to fall back asleep when you were woken up by another low growl, not coming from Leonard this time. Leonard cracked an eye open slightly looking up at you.

“Someone hungry?” Leonard drawled sleepily, voice still thick from sleep, as his hands moved to your stomach slowly, poking it gently. You laughed as you grabbed his hand and moved it away from your stomach, placing it on your hip.

“We didn’t eat dinner last night, remember?” You reminded Leonard as you leaned in slightly, giving Leonard a soft kiss on the lips. Leonard returned your kiss, with a slightly rougher one of his own, tightening his grip on your hip slightly. You deepened the kiss for a few moments before Leonard broke the kiss, smiling on your lips before placing soft kisses up your jaw.

“What do you say I go make us some breakfast?” You offered with an airy giggle as Leonard’s stubble tickled your neck. Leonard hummed quietly as he continued to place kisses up and down your neck.

“I’ll make pancakes…” You sang out, smiling down at Leonard. Leonard halted his kisses and looked up at you, eyes hopeful.

“Now pancakes are something I might consider letting you up for darlin.” Leonard replied as he gave you a soft kiss on the lips before running a hand through your hair. “Sure you feel up to it though?” He asked as his eyes searched your face.

“I feel fine, just a little stiff. Getting up and moving around should help.” You replied, kissing his forehead gently. “Now you stay here and have a lie in. I don't need another kitchen disaster on my hands.”

Leonard grumbled quietly, but let you go and buried his face back in the pillow. You chuckled softly as you brushed the wisps of hair from his face, earning a tiny moan from Leonard. You smiled down at him and forced yourself to get up.

You padded quietly to the kitchen and pulled out everything you needed. You got the coffee brewing as you started breakfast. It didn't take too long before you had everything done and headed back to you bedroom. 

You walked into the bedroom quietly, peering over at Leonard, who was fast asleep once more. His breathing shallow and even, even though his face was still smashed in his pillow. Soft snores muffled by the pillow, escaped his lips. His bed mussed hair all over the place, making you smile. You sat breakfast down on the bedside table before sitting on the side of the bed gently. You ran your fingernails up and down Leonard's back, earning a shudder and a quiet snort from the sleeping man. 

“Breakfast is done, but if you’d rather sleep, I guess I'll eat it.” You spoke as you peered down at Leonard with a grin. Leonard cracked an eye open at you in a sleepy glare. 

“I don't think so sweetheart.” Leonard replied as he maneuvered himself to sit up on one arm. You gave Leonard a smirk and you got up and grabbed the breakfast tray and sat it between the two of you. Leonard gave a low whistle as his free hand immediately went for the coffee cup. 

“Pancakes, eggs, bacon, and toast? What did I do to deserve all this?” Leonard asked as he made for a piece of bacon, munching quietly. 

“Don't flatter yourself doc, this is mainly for me.” You replied with a wink as you smacked Leonard's hand playfully as he reached for another piece of bacon. Leonard scowled as he grabbed a fork and began digging into the pancakes. The two of you ate and drank your coffee slowly, in silence. Enjoying the lazy start to the day. 

“That was delicious, thank you darlin’.” Leonard groaned out quietly as he rolled onto his back, rubbing his stomach slowly. 

“You’re welcome Len. Now I hope your brought your swim trunks.” You replied as you poked Leonard’s stomach gently, earning a small grunt from the other. 

“I'm pretty sure I don't even own any swim trunks.” Leonard replied as he grabbed your poking hand and brought it to his lips before placing it in his hair. You laughed as you began massaging his head, enjoying the tiny, tired grunts and groans coming from Leonard. 

“My brother probably has a pair stashed around here somewhere. You two are about the same size.” You replied thoughtfully, scratching at Leonard's scalp. 

“Brother? You never told me you had a brother.” Leonard replied, leaning his head to look up at you. 

“It never came up.” You offered him a shrug. “I have an older brother. A protective older brother at that. He might even give you a run for your money.” Leonard gave a small snort. 

“That I’d like to see.” Leonard chuckled out softly, leaning into your hand.

“I wouldn't. The two of you in a room together? I couldn't imagine. I’d probably only be allowed to breathe.” You shuddered playfully at the thought, while poking Leonard in the ribs gently. 

“Oh come on sweetheart, I'm not that bad!” Leonard replied, trying to defend himself. You just looked down at Leonard, eyes narrowed, arms crossed across your chest. 

“Ok, fine, I’m that bad. But don't try to deny that you don't love it darlin’, because that I won't believe.” Leonard conceded with a small grin, moving his hands up to cup your face, bringing you down for a long, gentle kiss. You smiled and hummed against Leonard's lips. 

“You’re right. I love it when you're all doctory and protective.” You replied breathless, giving Leonard one last small kiss. “You taste like syrup.” You observed as you licked your lips. 

Leonard laughed as he slowly got up out of bed and made his way to the bathroom and shut the door quietly. You padded to the spare bedroom searching the closet and drawers for your brothers swim trunks. Finally finding them, you made your way to the bathroom and knocked on the door quietly. 

“Want to try these on?” You called through the door. Leonard opened the door, toothbrush sticking out of his mouth, took the trunks from your hands with a small smile and shut the door once more. You made your way back to your room and got out your own bathing suit and got yourself changed. You were just finishing up when Leonard walked in the room. 

“Same size, huh?” Leonard asked as he gestured down to the almost too tight trunks. A grin immediately formed on your face. 

“Well I think they're perfect Len.” You replied with a wink. Leonard gave you a playful eye roll in return. You grabbed a couple towels and your flip flops before heading to the back door, Leonard right behind. You made your way down the porch and towards the shed. 

“Where are you going?” Leonard asked, quirking an eyebrow. 

“It's a ways out, I thought we could take the 4 wheelers…” You started out but as you turned to look at Leonard’s face, the words died on your lips. Leonard's scowl was set deep, as his arms crossed over his chest at the mere mention of those death machines. You dropped the lock on the shed and lifted your hands in defeat. “Walking is good too I suppose. Just don't say I didn't warn you.” 

Leonard scoffed softly and took your hand, lacing his fingers with yours. You shrugged at Leonard, squeezing his hand, as you began leading him to the small lake at the edge of your property. 

The two of you walked hand in hand while you pointed and chatted on about random places on your property. Leonard being genuinely interested in what you had to say, kept the conversation going by asking you a lot of questions. The conversation flowed effortlessly between the two of you.

Leonard suddenly stopped a few minutes later, causing your arms to go taut, pulling you backwards slightly.

“How much further is this place?” Leonard huffed out, wiping his forehead as beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead. You gave him a quiet snort.

“I told you this place was a ways out. Did you not believe me? If you would have let us take the 4-wheelers, we would have been there 15 minutes ago.” You replied as you tugged Leonard’s hand again to get him moving.

“Absolutely not, not again. One head injury is one too many for this shore leave.” Leonard grumbled as he held onto your hand tighter as you pulled him along.

You’d finally managed to get the two of you to the small lake, with minimal complaining from Leonard. You hung the towels on a low hanging branch of a tree and kicked your flip flops off underneath. You turned to look at Leonard who was still standing in the place you left him, staring out over the water, with an expression you can’t quite place.

“Something wrong?” You asked quietly, as you walked back and slipped an arm around his waist, squeezing gently.

“Not at all, sweetheart. This place is gorgeous,” Leonard replied as he kissed the top of your head gently. “Thanks again for letting me stay.” He mumbled into you hair, squeezing you back.

“You’re welcome Len, the pleasure has been all mine.” You pulled back enough to wink up at him, and give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Now come on let’s get in.” You added as you walked over to the edge of the water and dipped a toe in, testing it. It was a little cool, but not too bad on this warm summer day. You waded out slowly to where your feet barely touched bottom, before turning around to look for Leonard. The other had moved to the edge of the water, still looking questionly out across the lake.

“Are you sure about this Y/N?” Leonard asked skeptically, eyes darting all around. You sighed out and rolled your eyes slightly.

“It’s perfectly safe Leonard, I promise. There’s noth…” Your words were cut off as you head suddenly went below the water. The water swirled and bubbled around you as you thrashed around, trying to break the surface once more. You could hear Leonard’s muffled yelling as he ran into the water and began swimming out to where you were. When you could hear Leonard getting closer, you popped your head back out of the water.

“See, now that wasn’t so bad, now was it?” You replied,wiping your face as you splashed Leonard lightly with the water. Leonard scowled and smacked the surface of the water.

“Don’t do that Y/N! You nearly gave me another heart attack! I think this calls for paybacks.” Leonard said eyeing you, as his lips turned up into a mischievous grin.

“Oh, no!” You replied, eyes going slightly wide, as you spun to try to swim away. You didn’t get very far as Leonard grabbed your ankle and pulled you back into his chest. He kissed you lightly on the lips before his hands moved down to your hips, gripping firmly.

“Noooo Leonard! Don’t you…” Was all you managed to get out as Leonard lifted you up out of the water and tossed you back with a splash. You flailed around as you came back to the surface, sputtering and coughing. 

“Next time, close your mouth sweetheart.” Leonard laughed out as he swam over to you, giving you something to hold on to while you caught your breath. You wrapped your arms around his neck and your legs around his hips, and laid your head on his shoulder.

“Mean.” You said simply, voice a little hoarse from choking on the water.

“Turnabout is fair play, darlin’.” Leonard chuckled as he leaned back in the water, paddling backwards slowly, while you continued to cling to him tightly. The two of you swam circles around the lake, splashing each other and laughing until you both were starting to get tired.

“What do you say we start heading back before we get too tired to make the walk?” You asked as you swam over and wrapped your arms around the back of Leonard’s neck, giving his ear a small nip. 

“Sounds like a good idea. I’m getting hungry, how about you?” Leonard asked as he grabbed your legs and wrapped them around his waist as he slowly swam towards the edge of the lake. You hummed and nodded into Leonard’s neck as he continued to swim.

When you finally reached the shore, you dragged yourself up and out of the lake, making your way to the tree with your flip flops and towels. Leonard had just gotten his shoes back on when you tossed him a towel.

“Thanks darlin.” Leonard said as he caught the towel and ran it over his head a few times, leaving his hair stuck up all over the place. You chuckled to yourself quietly at how silly he looked, as you toweled out your own hair and wrapped the towel around you. Leonard walked over to you, with his own towel wrapped around his hips, and grabbed your hand, lacing his fingers with yours.

You and Leonard both walked back to the house relatively quiet, saving your energy for the hike back, the few hours of swimming having tuckered the both of you out. You two finally made it up the back steps and through the back door and into the house. 

“Go ahead and go shower, Len. Toss your trunks in the hall and I’ll take them to the laundry room.” You said as you wandered to the kitchen and set out some burgers for lunch. 

“Pretty sure I’m still waterlogged over here.” Leonard made a face at getting wet all over again. 

“Quit whining and go take a shower. You smell like lake.” You replied, scrunching up your nose for emphasis. 

“You don't exactly smell like roses either, sweetheart.” Leonard smirked at you while crossing his arms. You stuck your tongue out at him from above the fridge door and went back to rummaging. Leonard rolled his eyes with a grin on his face as he made his way down the hall. 

You finished setting everything out to make burgers when you wandered down the hall and grabbed the pile of laundry Leonard left in the hallway and went and put them in the washing machine. Leonard made his way to the kitchen a few minutes later, wearing his Starfleet shirt and lounge pants. 

“I’m going to go take a shower. Do you think you can handle cooking these burgers without making a mess?” You eyed Leonard as you handed him a spatula. Leonard rolled his eyes.

“Who do you take me for?” Leonard huffed while taking the spatula from you, grabbing your wrist in the process. 

“I'm still finding flour in random places in the kitchen!” You laughed out as Leonard pulled you into his chest. You closed your eyes and rested your head on his shoulder for a few moments before your eyes popped open. 

“Did you… did you use my…?” You trailed off as you sniffed Leonard's shoulder. 

“It was the only soap in there! I forgot mine so I just used it. At least i don't smell like lake water anymore.” Leonard grumped out, glaring down at you. 

“Well you smell very pretty Leonard, I approve. Don't make a mess!” You smirked at him before he could reply and ran off to the shower, faintly hear Leonard grumbling in the background. 

You finished your shower quickly as the smell of burgers permeated the bathroom. You gathered your clothes quickly and went to the laundry room to drop them off and start the load of laundry. You walked back to the kitchen pleasantly surprised to find the kitchen not burnt down. 

“Once again I am impressed with your culinary skills. You're almost making up for not knowing what ‘dredge’ meant.” You teased, giving Leonard a wink as you grabbed a couple plates and brought them over. 

“I make up for my lack of culinary lingo for expertise in other areas. Trust me sweetheart.” Leonard replied smugly as he returned your wink and began putting the burgers on the plates.

“I’ll hold you to it later, Leonard. Right now, I’m starving.” You replied with a smirk, as you went back to the fridge to pour a couple glasses of iced tea. 

You grabbed your glass and your plate and slowly made your way out the back door and plopped down on the porch swing. The day was warm, but not too hot, with a gentle breeze blowing your porch chimes. Leonard came out shortly behind you and placed a gently kiss to the top of your head before he sat himself next to you on the swing.

You brought your legs and feet up on the swing, leaning up against Leonard as the two of you ate quietly, watching the breeze blow through your wheat field, and listening to the birds sing in the distance. Not long after you two had finished eating, you felt a heavy head resting against the top of yours.

“All that swimming tucker you out old man?” You teased as you lifted your hand up and brushed the hair out of Leonard’s face gently. Leonard chuckled as he gave you a tight squeeze, tickling your ribs gently, making you yelp out a laugh in surprise.

“I think all those double and triple shifts these past 2 weeks are catching up with me. Between that and you nearly giving me a heart attack twice already, I’m beat.” Leonard let out a big yawn, while lazily wrapping his arms around you.

“Can’t argue with you there.” You replied, giving a low chuckle as you remembered the chaos of the MedBay all too clearly. “Let’s go back inside and we’ll lay down for a bit, okay?” You asked Leonard, while moving to get up before he could reply. Leonard gave out a small grunt of protest as you left his side, but took your hands as you outstretched them, lifting him off the swing.

You grabbed the plates from the swing as you made your way inside, tugging gently on Leonard’s hand, who was shuffling sleepily behind you. You sat the plates on the table, telling yourself you’d wash them later. You continued to tug Leonard down the hall and into your bedroom. 

The other shuffled around you as you stopped in the doorway. Leonard stopped by the edge of the bed and shucked his pants to the floor before crawling in bed and falling heavily onto the pillow, smashing his face completely into it. You couldn’t help but laugh at the site as you quickly changed into your sleeping shorts and crawled in next to Leonard.

You kissed Leonard’s cheek before snuggling into his side, underneath his uplifted arm. Leonard wrapped his arm around you tight as he brought you in close to him and placed a gentle kiss on your lips. You rested your forehead against Leonard’s as you placed a kiss on his nose, earning a sleepy smile from the other. You moved your arm around to the back of his neck, where you played with the hair on the back of his head slowly.

It didn’t take long before you felt Leonard’s breathing even out and shallow as he started to fall asleep. You placed a quick kiss to Leonard’s lips as you snuggled into him further before closing your eyes. You felt Leonard’s chest rumble as he hummed quietly, giving you one last soft squeeze before you both drifted off to sleep.


	4. The Stars

Your eyes fluttered open to the sounds of a soft buzzing. You lifted your head slightly trying to figure out where the noise was coming from. You blinked blearily over to your bedside table and saw the soft glow of your comm. You glanced over at Leonard whose mouth was open slightly as soft snores passed over his lips. 

You tried to wiggle yourself out of Leonard's grasp carefully. Leonard whined quietly as you moved slowly off the bed, running his hand along the spot your previously lay. You smiled down at Leonard as you moved the hair out of his face gently. You grabbed your comm and flipped it open, making your way quickly out of the room, shutting the door behind you softly as you made your way down the hall so you wouldn't wake Leonard. 

“James T. Kirk, so absolutely lovely to hear from you.” You spoke into the comm, letting the sarcasm drip off your voice. If Jim understood the sarcasm, he didn't let on and kept talking without skipping a beat. 

“Y/N! Hows my favorite nurse doing on her shore leave?” Jim asked all too cheerily into the phone, the air of smugness in his voice was thick. 

“Don't you try sucking up to me, you matchmaking asshole.” You laughed into the phone. Jim let out his own loud bark of laughter. 

“You know as well as I do that you two wouldn’t have ever gotten together on your own without some help, you were both too afraid to make the first move. All you needed was a gentle push” Jim replied, continuing to laugh airly through the comm. 

“Dumping Leonard on me for a week is what you call gentle? I'd hate to see you at desperate measures.” You breathed out a final laugh. 

“Well it worked, didn't it?” Jim spoke, the smugness once again replacing his laughter.

When you didn't answer, Jim whispered “I knew it.” 

“You just be quiet over Jim, before your head gets any bigger. What did you call for? Certainly not to brag, although I wouldn't put it past you honestly.” You scowled into the comm, as you placed your free hand on your hip. 

“Can't a captain call and check on his crew?” Jim replied, trying to feign innocence. 

“No.” You replied simply, narrowing your eyes to slits. 

“Alright, alright, ease up. I need to talk to Bones.” Jim started out with a chuckle. “It's about the new mission we’ve got and I need to go over a few things with him. Promise.” He finished more seriously, putting on a bit of his Captain’s voice. 

“Alright, I'll get him. Be warned that he's asleep so he might not be too happy with you.” You replied with a small huff. 

“That's no different than any other time, Y/N. I'm used to it by now.” Jim laughed once more. 

“You’ve got a point, Jim. Hang on.” You whispered into the comm as you pushed open your door and slipped inside. You walked over to the bed and sat on the edge gently. 

“Leonard… Hey Len, wake up.” You spoke quietly while running your hand gently through Leonard’s hair. Leonard snorted awake with a slight jerk and cracked his eye open and looked up at you. “Jims on the comm, he needs to talk to you.” 

“Tell him I’m busy.” Leonard muttered as he buried his head back in the pillow.

“I heard that, Bones.” You could hear Jim speak faintly through your comm. You giggled softly and placed the comm next to Leonard’s head. Leonard groaned quietly as you patted his back gently and stood up from the bed, leaving him to it. 

“This better be important, Jim.” You could hear Leonard grumble into the comm. You smirked to yourself as you slipped out of the room, and shut the door softly behind you, giving Leonard privacy. You padded slowly down the hall to the living room. You picked another random movie and popped it in.

You went over to the couch and plopped yourself down, laying longwise on the cushions. You grabbed the blanket on the back of the couch and draped it across your legs. You tucked yourself into the corner of the couch and got comfortable. You dozed in and out of sleep as the movie played, not really paying any attention. You awoke with a start when you felt hands on your legs, lifting them up from the couch. 

“Sorry darlin’, I didn’t mean to wake you.” Leonard spoke softly as he sat down and placed your legs across his lap, moving his hands to your feet and rubbing them gently.

“It’s okay.” You replied as you glanced at the clock. “I don’t need to sleep anymore or I won’t sleep tonight. Although if you keep rubbing my feet like that, there’s no guarantees.” You groaned out as you closed your eyes and rested your head on the side of the couch. Leonard chuckled softly and moved his hands up to your calves, squeezing them softly.

“What did Jim want?” You asked quietly , eyes still closed as you concentrated on Leonard’s hands moving up and down your leg slowly.

“They’ve assigned us a new mission, further out this time. I’ve got to go back the day after tomorrow and make sure the MedBay has got everything we need.” Leonard replied as he let out a long sigh.

“Do you need me to come back with you and help you?” You asked as you cracked open an eye to look at Leonard.

“Jim suggested it, but I, not so gently reminded him that you would probably murder him for suggesting it, and then me for delivering the news.” Leonard sad as he gave you a small wink.

“You’re damned right I would.” You huffed out. “No one messes with my time off and gets away with it.” 

“Don’t we all know it sweetheart.” Leonard laughed out as he patted your legs, leaning his head against the back of the couch.

“There’s one more place here that I’d like to show you before you go back, if that’s okay?” You asked as you dropped your legs to the floor, moving to get up from the couch.

“Sure, what did you have in mind? It had better not start with the words 4-wheeler either.” Leonard replied as he crossed his arms loosely across his chest. You laughed and patted his bare leg gently.

“No, it doesn’t, but never you mind. Go put some pants on.” You leaned down and gave Leonard a soft kiss. Leonard leaned into the kiss, as his fingertips traveled slowly up your arm, and to your neck, before being carded through your hair, ending at the back of your head. Leonard pulled your lips more into his, deepening the kiss.

You placed your hands on his shoulders, while giving Leonard’s bottom lip a quick nip before you pulled away slightly. Leonard groaned softly on your lips. You gave Leonard a small smirk as you gave him one last quick peck, and straightened yourself back up. You stretched out your hands and offered Leonard help up. Leonard took your hands and hoisted himself up slowly.

You walked backwards, pulling Leonard along with you as you made your way back to the hallway and back to the bedroom. You and Leonard slowly put your pants and shoes back on. You left the room once more, making your way to the kitchen. You started pulling out a few ingredients to make sandwiches.

“Plan on being gone a while?” Leonard asked, quirking an eyebrow as he walked by you to grab a couple small bags of chips.

“You never know. We might get hungry. I know how much you eat Leonard.” You replied with a shrug and a small smirk as you put the finishing touches on the sandwiches.

“Fair enough.” Leonard agreed with a small nod, as he dropped the bags of chips by your sandwiches. You bagged everything up into a large lunch box, along with a small blanket. You headed to the back door, with Leonard following close behind you, taking the lunch box from your hands. You stepped down off the porch and onto the grass. Leonard came up behind you and wrapped an arm around your waist, as you began to guide him where you were going.

“You sure you don’t want to take the 4-wheelers…” You trailed off, giving Leonard a wide grin, while nudging him gently in the ribs.

“Not a snowballs chance.” Leonard growled out as he tightened his arm around your waist. 

“I’m just messing with you, lighten up grumpy pants.” You laughed out with a quiet snort. Leonard was still scowling beside you, unimpressed with your attempt at humor. “It’s not as far as the lake, I promise.”

You wrapped your arm around Leonard's waist as you guided him to a different side of your property. After walking for a bit and showing Leonard around this side of your property, you finally came to a small hill. 

“It's just up here, come on.” You looked up at Leonard, grabbing his hand and tugged him up the hill. Leonard huffed his way up the hill, letting out a small puff of air at the top. 

“Don't tell me that wore you out, old man.” You said with a smirk as you tried to take the lunch box from Leonard. 

“I'll show you old man.” Leonard replied and grabbed you around your middle, and quickly finding your ticklish spot under your ribs. 

“Nooo! Len... Stop… Stop it!” You wheezed out trying to wiggle free from Leonard's grasp. Leonard finally halted his assault after a few more seconds. 

“Leonard… you ass.” You wheezed out, trying to catch your breath, while swatting Leonard's chest lightly. Leonard only gave you a smug, triumphant smile in reply. You rolled your eyes playfully as you took the lunchbox from Leonard and make your way over to a single tree on the hill. 

“Come on.” You told Leonard as you grabbed his hand and led him over to the tree, sitting the lunch box up against it. You turned around and spun Leonard around with you and gestured out over the hill. 

“Wow. You can see for miles up here.” Leonard replied as he stepped around the tree to get a better view.

The hill overlooked the rest of your property. You could almost see everything from here. The fields of wheat, swaying in the breeze down below, to a small edge of the lake just barely in view, surrounded by tall grass and wild flowers. You let go of Leonard's hand, as he continued to look out across the field, and walked over to the other side of the tree, towards a tire swing. 

“My dad and I put this swing up when I was a little girl.” You spoke, mostly just airing your thoughts to the breeze, as you placed your hands on the rubber tread. Leonard didn't reply but quietly came and stood by you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and giving you a soft hug and a gentle kiss against your temple. A small smile crept onto your lips as you stepped around the swing and sat inside it. 

“Push me Leonard!” You shouted, kicking your legs through the tire. Leonard gave you a stern look and crossed his arms. “Oh come on! Don't be so stuck up. Loosen up, live a little! Now come push!”

Leonard's lips slowly turned up into a mischievous smirk. You froze and stopped kicking your legs as you looked up at Leonard as he placed his hands on the top of the swing. 

“Leonard…” You started out lowly and spoke slowly. “Don't even think about it.”

“Don't think about what, sweetheart?” Leonard's grin went even wider as he suddenly started spinning the tire in circles, winding up the rope. 

“That! You asshole!” You cried out as you clung to the tire swing for dear life, as your world continued to spin. “Stop it! Or I may throw up on you!”

Leonard suddenly stopped spinning you. You grabbed the sides of your head, trying to get everything to stop spinning. Before you could gather your bearings, you felt your feet leaving the ground. Leonard pushed you up where your face met his and gave you a quick kiss and another smirk as he stretched his arms up as far as he could.

You clawed desperately at the tire swing, trying to get a good grip. Leonard moved out of the way as he let go and you fell through the air, spinning and swinging back and forth. 

“I hate you Leonard Mccoy. Get off my property.” You groaned out as the tire swing finally came to a halt. You rested your head on the cool rubber, closing your eyes. You swallowed thickly, praying the dizziness didn’t last long. 

“You did tell me to live a little.” Leonard chuckled as he went over and began rummaging through the lunch box, pulling out the blanket and setting it up. 

“Not at my expense, you ass!” You replied, eyes still closed, but shaking your fist in the general direction of where you knew Leonard to be. 

“You're adorable when you're trying to be all mean and violent.” Leonard laughed at the sight of you, as he pulled out the sandwiches from the lunchbox. You cracked open your eyes slightly in order to glare at Leonard, who gave you a smug smile in return.

You continued to sit on the tire swing, waiting for your head to stop spinning and for your stomach to settle. Leonard walked back over to you and gave you a soft kiss on the top of your head.

“I'm sorry darlin, I couldn't resist.” Leonard spoke, trying to suppress his laughter, as he ran a hand through your hair gently. You glared the best you could at Leonard in response.

“Let's get you something to eat sweetheart, you're cranky.” Leonard replied with an airy chuckle, as he went to stand behind you, and started wrapping his arms around you.

“Nooo, Len, what are you doing?” You asked as you clung to the tire swing. “I'll show you cranky if you don’t leave me alone!” Leonard proceeded to lift you out of the tire swing and into his arms.

“Like I said… completely adorable.” Leonard smirked at you, while giving you a kiss on your nose, while you continued to scowl up at him.

“I still hate you McCoy.” You grumbled out, as you rested your head on his shoulder, poking his ribs gently, earning a small laugh from the other. 

Leonard carried you over to the blanket, setting you to your feet gently, and sat down on the blanket and leaned against the trunk of the tree. Leonard tugged your wrists gently and brought you down to him, snuggling you into his chest. 

Leonard reached over and grabbed the extra sandwich and handed it to you. You unwrapped it and began munching on the sandwich slowly, hoping your stomach would settle. Leonard then started to rub your back gently as you ate. 

You took long enough that the sun had slowly started to dip in the horizon. The sky began to change and display brilliant colors of blues, reds, yellows, pinks, and oranges. Leonard had stopped eating his sandwich and was staring out at the sky. 

“Wow, your sunsets are gorgeous.” Leonard spoke softly, never taking his eyes off the fast changing horizon. 

“If there's one good thing here, it's our sunsets. It's what I miss the most from home while being away.” You replied as you too watched the colors dance among the clouds. 

“I can see why.” Leonard said as he brought his arms around you, squeezing you tightly, tracing small circles on your stomach. You leaned back into Leonard's embrace while eating the rest of your sandwich as the last of the brilliant colors faded, being slowly replaced by the inky darkness of the night sky. 

“Let’s move this blanket out some.” You suggested as you slowly got up from the blanket. You offered Leonard a hand and helped him up. The two of you grabbed an end of the blanket and moved it out from under the tree, into the open space under the stars. You laid it back down on the ground and you plopped down on it immediately.

You raised your hands up at Leonard, smiling and making grabbing motions. Leonard rolled his eyes playfully, taking your hands into his, giving you a wide smile of his own, before plopping down beside you. Leonard wrapped his arm around you, holding you tight, as the stars slowly began to come out and take over the darkness of the sky.

You shifted in Leonard’s arms as you slowly moved to lay on your back. You tugged at Leonard’s wrists gently as you brought him down to lay with you. You snugged closely into his chest as you both began to gaze up at the stars.

“They sure do look different from down here, you almost forget. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them this bright.” Leonard spoke softly, as he rubbed your arms gently.

“That’s another perk of living out in the middle of nowhere, not much light pollution out here.” You replied just as quiet as you reached over and began to play with Leonard’s hair. “Which is just as well for me, I’m a sucker for stars and constellations.”

“Oh?” Leonard replied inquisitively, still taking in all the brightly lit dots that littered the sky. You gave a tiny smirk and lifted your hand in the air.

“There’s Aquila, the celestial eagle” You pointed to a line of three bright stars. “There’s Cygnus, the swan.” You pointed over and up to a set of three fainter stars. “There’s Hercules. I would hope you know who he is. There’s Ophiuchus the serpent bearer, and ohhh look, Scorpius, my favorite…” You trailed off as you noticed Leonard staring down at you with a small grin and a look you couldn’t quite place.

“What? Am I weirding you out? I’m weirding you out aren’t I?” You asked as you lowered your arm to the blanket, laughing quietly as you grinned up at Leonard.

“Oh, no, sweetheart. Not at all.” Leonard smiled replying quickly and gently. He took your chin into his hand and brought your eyes to his. “Quite the opposite. You're passionate, intelligent and beautiful just to name a few. You're quite the package Y/N. I’m just sorry it took me this long...” Leonard trailed off as he ran his thumb over your cheek and kissed your lips gently. You returned the kiss as you threaded your hand in his hair. You were glad that it was dark outside because you felt your cheeks go a brilliant shade of red. 

“Well I’m glad you finally plucked up the courage.” You replied quietly, trying to steady your breathing. “You’re a brilliant doctor, a loyal friend, very handsome, great head of hair, and a total softie.” You smirked up at Leonard, poking his chest softly. 

“I am totally not a softie!” Leonard grumped out, trying to feign anger and look offended. 

“Don't worry, your secret is safe with me.” You winked up at Leonard, who in turn rolled their eyes and began tickling you. You snorted out a laugh, trying to remove Leonard’s hands from your ribs. Leonard finally relented his assault and you caught your breath and wiped your eyes. You swatted Leonard playfully on the chest, earning a smirk from the other, as you nestled back into Leonard's side, gazing back up at the stars, when a tiny shimmer streaked across the sky. 

“Ohh, look Len! A shooting star, make a wish.” You said, nudging Leonard with one hand and pointing up at the star moving across the sky with the other. 

“I don't need to make a wish. I have everything I want, right here.” Leonard replied softly as he leaned over and gave you a gentle kiss on the lips. 

“Oh, you old romantic.” You laughed out softly on his lips, and wrapping your arms around his waist and squeezed tightly. 

“Actually, now that I think about it. There is one thing I would like.” Leonard spoke as he shuffled himself up off the blanket and extending his hand to you. 

“What’s that?” You replied as you took his hand and he helped you up. 

“The honor of this dance.” Leonard said softly into your ear, wrapping his arm around your waist. 

“Uhhh I don't dance, Len… two left feet and all.” You replied awkwardly as Leonard tried to position the two of you together, and you tripped over his feet slightly, as if to reiterate your point. 

“Just relax darlin, don't think about it. Let me do the work.” Leonard whispered in your ear, his soft drawl putting you at ease. Leonard grabbed your hand, lifting it slightly, lacing your fingers into his. Leonard's other hand rested lightly on your hip, pulling you closer to him. 

You looked up at Leonard with a slightly worried expression. Leonard looked down at you with a soft chuckle and kissed your forehead as he began to move your hips. You took a deep breath and tried to relax, while Leonard began dancing you around in circles. 

After a few minutes you started to get the hang of it and began following his footsteps with ease. That is, until Leonard suddenly stopped and dipped you low, causing you to squeak quiety, before he pulled you back up into his arms, giving you a wide smirk. Leonard wrapped his arms around you, slowing down the pace. 

You closed your eyes and laid your head on Leonard's shoulder. Leonard rested his head on top of yours as he started to move the two of you in small circles underneath the open sky. 

“I'm so glad you let me stay sweetheart. This is the best time I’ve had in a long time.” Leonard mumbled into your hair, giving you a tight squeeze, stopping dancing for a moment. 

“Of course Len, it also helped that you're completely and madly in love with me.” You replied, wiggling your eyebrows up at Leonard. 

“Let's not ruin the moment with your sass, darlin’” Leonard laughed out as he moved both of his hands to rest on your hips. 

“You’re one to talk mister, but okay I give. Just this once though.” You huffed up at Leonard quietly before moving your arms around the back of his head, bringing him down for a slow kiss. 

“Here's to many more nights of being underneath the stars and amongst them.” Leonard whispered on your lips as you two parted slightly. 

“That sounds absolutely wonderful Leonard. I can't think of anyone else who I'd rather be with.” You replied, looking into Leonard's eyes and seeing the twinkle of admiration in them. You smiled up at Leonard, blushing slightly from the way he looked at you. 

Leonard brought you closer to him and pressed his lips to yours. You brought your hands up Leonard's neck and rubbed the bottom of his neckline gently as he ran his hands through your hair. Leonard nipped your lip softly, making you groan quietly, causing Leonard to smirk against your lips. Leonard brought you in close once more, hugging you tightly, as he started to rock the both of you slowly once more. 

The two of you continued to dance the night away, joking and laughing and thoroughly enjoying each others company before Leonard had to leave. You two continued to sway and dance underneath the night sky as the stars continued to twinkle and shoot across the sky. This was the absolute best night, and the best shore leave, you've ever had.


End file.
